Excavator and conveyer



(No Model.) 8 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. CABLE.

EXGAVATOR AND OONVEYER.

No. 390,201. Patented Oct. 2, 1888.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2. J. CABLE.

EXGAVATOR AND GONVEYER. No. 390,201. 'Patented'Oct. 2, 1888.

(No Model.)

(No Model.) v3 sna -ism a.

' J. CABLE.

EXGAVATOR AND GONVEYER. N0. 390 201. Patented Oct. 2, 1888.

TATES Nrrnn Fries.

EXCAVATOR AND CONVEYER.

$PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 390,201, dated October2, 1888.

Application filed January 13, 1858. Serial No. 260,606. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN CABLE, of Cable, in the county of Sherburne andState of Mi nnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Excavators, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon.

One object of myinvention is to provide an excavator which shall makethe cut on a line outside the line of the frame of the machine on theside on which the plow is located, in order that a perpendicular orsloping bank may be formed, if necessary, when making a deep cut for thepurpose of forming a roadway or other analogous purpose.

Another object of my inventionis to convey the dirt loosened by the ploweither to a re ceptacle mounted on wheels which can be attached to oneside of the excavator and moved with it, or else by means of alengthened conveyer to discharge it on one side of the cut to form anembankment.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combinationof the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth in thespecification and claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of my improvedexcavator, one of the front wheels of the excavator being broken away.Fig. 2 is a rear view of the excavator with a long carryingbeltattached. Figs. 3 and 4 are detached details. Fig. 5 is a plan View ofthe excavator, partly broken away. Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 aredetached details.

Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts in the respectivefigures.

The main frame of the machine consists of the longitudinal beams A, A,and A and the Cross-beams B, B, and E the rear beams, B and B beingsecurely bolted to the underside of the longitudinal beams, and thefront beam, B, being secured to the ends of the longitudinal beams A andA by means of mortises, as shown. The beam A is about half the length ofthe beams A and A, and the forward end of this beam is connected bymeans of a bent iron brace, a, to the beams A and B. The object ofhaving the beam A shorter than the other longitudinal beams and usingthe bent iron brace a will be hereinafter described.

The front part of the excavator is supported on the wheels 0 G, asuitable bolster, c, and a fifth-wheel, 0', being interposed between theunder side of the beam B and the axle O, the several parts beingconnected by means of a bolt, 0, which passes through them and forms apivot on which the axle G revolves in a horizontal plane. The wheels 0 Oare of a size enabling them to pass freely under the frame of themachine.

The rear end of the machine is supported on the wheels D D. Suitablebolsters, d, are secured to the under sides of the beams A, A,

and A and to these bolsters are attached the boxes (1, in which the axleD revolves. Each of the wheels D is loosely mounted on the axle insideof the frame ofthe machine. The inner ends of the hubs of the wheels Dare provided with ratchet-teeth (P.

E E are caps which fit over the inner ends of the hubs, and inside ofeach of these caps a spring-pawl, c, is pivoted, which engages with theteeth on the hub of the wheel, and thus causes the cap to rotate withthe wheels when the machine is moving forward. The caps E being keyed tothe axle D will also cause it to revolve with them. The wheels D being,however, loosely mounted on the axle, if the machine is moved backward,the pawl 6 will slip over the ratchet-teeth and the caps E and axle Dwill not revolve.

F is a gear-wheel keyed to the axle D.

To the beam B are bolted the short sup ports G G,which project forward,and to which are secured the boxes 9, in which the shaft 9 revolves. Thebeam A is notched to receive the shaft, as shown. is adj ust-ably keyedon the shaft 9 and meshes with the gear-wheel F. A sprocket-wheel, g isrigidly mounted on the shaft H H are standards securely bolted at theirlower ends to the beams A and A,and at their upper ends receive thesleeves h h, which are firmly secured to the blocks I I, bolted to theside rails, I 1 of the carrying-belt frame, and form a pivotal supportfor the upper end of the said frame. A shaft, h, has its bearings in thesleeves h h, and on this shaftis mounted the roller h", over which theendless belt 1 passes. One end of this shaft h projects beyond thestandard H and carries a sprocketwheel, h A chain, h", passes over thesprocket- A small gear-wheel, g",

wheels 9 and h and transmits motion from one to the other.

To the lower end of the side rail, 1, is bolted a short block, J,provided with a slot, 7', in which a box, j, is inserted. The box 9" isadjustable in the slotj by means of the set-screw j the lugj, and nutj".The boxj serves as a bearing for one end of the roller J, and, beingadjustable, the roller J and the belt I, which passes over it, can beadjusted. The other end of the roller J has its bearing in a suitablebox, i,,riveted to the iron plate J bolted to the side rail, 1". The endof the roller is cut out in order to fit over the box 6 and allow theroller to abut against the plate J Between the rollers J 'and h as manyrollers as may be necessary to properly support the carrying-belt arejournaled in the two side rails, I 1

The landside of the plow K is recessed at k to receive the end of theplate J which is rounded, as shown, the two being secured together bymeans of the bolt 7c, which forms a pivot for the plow. The plate J andthe face of the landside K are flush with each other, and the plateforms the shank of theplow and pushes it forward.

L is a plate riveted to the landside K and extends backward over theplate J being provided with a slot, 1, through which the setscrew Zpasses into the plate J and by means of which the vertical angle of thepoint of the plow can be adjusted.

The plow is laterally braced by means of the bar L, one end of which isfastened to the under side of the mold-board, the other end being bentover the end of the side rail, I, and pivotal] y fastened thereto bymeans of the bolt Z The mold-board-of the plow is curved slightly andprovided with a fender, Z, on each side to prevent the dirt from fallingoff.

The standard H is bolted to the beam A at such a point forward of thatat which the standard H is bolted to the beam A as will serve to throwthe shaft h at an angle to the beams A A, and eonsequentlyln'ing theplowshare It just outside the line of the beam A. The carrying-belt 1and the mold-board of the plow will thus lie at an angle to the beams AA, but the plowshare is attached to the plow in such a way as to lie ina line parallel with the beams A A. This is necessary in order toprevent the plow having a tendency to pull the machine out of a straightcourse.

K K are chains secured at one end to the side rails, I I, and adapted tobe wound on the shaft K which is mounted in bearings on the beams A A,in order to lift the plow clear off the ground when necessary, aratchet-andpawl mechanism, K being provided to hold the shaft inposition.

M M are short standards bolted at their lower ends to the beams B B",and receiving at their upper ends the boxes m, secured to blocks N N,bolted to the side rails, N N, and form a pivotal support for theirlower ends.

M is a shaft which revolves in the boxes at and carries the roller M.One end ofthe shaft M projects beyond the standard M, and to it issecured by means of a set-screw, m, a bevelgear, M", which engages witha bevel-gear, G, on the shaft 5 By this means the roller M. is revolved,and with it the carrying-belt N The shaft 9 is provided with anadjustable collar, which abuts against the side of the beam A andprevents the beveled gear-wheels G and M from becoming disengaged.

To the upper and free ends of the rails N N are bolted the blocks N" N",each of which is provided with a slot, a, in which the boxes a are madeadjustable. The roller M" has its hearings in the boxes 12, thecarrying-belt N passing over it. As many rollers as may be necessary toproperly support the carryingbelt are interposed between the rollers Mand M", the interposed rollers having their bearings in the side rails,N N. The rails N N, and with them the belt N", are supported at theirupper ends by means of the standards N N, which are bolted to the beam AIt will be observed that by journaling the end rollers over which thebelts travel in the blocks which are secured to the outer sides of, theside rails I am enabled to have the end rollers and the belt almost aswide as the space between the outer faces of each pair of side rails.This is a great advantage, as it prevents in a great measure the dirtfrom falling in between the side rails and clogging the rollers. To eachside rail are secured the metal supports a: m, which extend upward abovethe belts, and have their ends bent over and inwardly, the bent-overportions supporting the side fenders, y y, which prevent the dirt fromfalling off the sides of the belt. An end fender, y, is also provided atthe lower end of the belt N to prevent the dirt falling off as it dropsfrom the belt 1.

Vhen it is desired to load the dirt in wheeled conveyers, as shown inFig. 1, the conveyer is attached to the side of the excavator by meansof the chains F F, and the team attached to the couveyer will travelalongside the excavator, keeping pace with it. When, however, it isdesired to carry the dirt off to one side of the cut, the belt N and itssupporting frame and rollers are removed, and another belt, N with itssupporting frame and rollers substituted. The belt N is about twice thelength of the belt N and the side rails, O O, rollers, 850., areconstructed in the same manner as those of the belt N To the blocks onthe outer ends of the side rails, O O, are bolted the bent iron bars 00, one arm, 0, projecting below the rails O and the other arm, 0, above.The arms 0' receive the boxes 0, which are secured to the blocks 0 onthe side rails, O O, and in the boxes a shaft, 0, carrying the roller 0revolves.

The outer ends of the rails O O are provided with blocks and boxes, inwhich the roller 0 revolves, and over the rollers 0 and 0 the belt 0travels. It will thus be seen that one end of the belt 0 and itssupporting-frame are pivotally supported by the arms 0 in such a mannerthat when in the position shown in 2 it will receive the dirt from thebelt ported by means of the chains 0 which pass over the pulleys o inthe upper end of the arms 0, and are wound on the shaft 0", which. isjournaled in the side rails, O 0. One end of the shaft of the upperroller which carries the belt N projects beyond the side rail and isprovided with a sprocket-wheel, n". One end ofthe shaft 0 also projectsbeyond the side rail and is provided with a sprocket-whecl, a", asprocket-chain, a", passing over these two wheels and transmittingmotion from one to the other. When the belt 0 is not required for use,it and its support-ingframe can be folded underthc beltN and heldin thatposition by means of the hooks 1?. The sprocket-wheel a" is secured onits shalt by means of a setscrew, it", and when the belt 0 is not in usethe set-screw a is loosened and the shaft will then revolvein thesproeket wheel.

In practice it is found that more or less dirt, gravel, and othersubstances will work their way inside the belt, thereby clogging thelower roller and often cutting holes in the belt. In order to keep thelower roller elean,a scraper is usually provided, which scrapes thedirt, 85c, off the roller and deposits it in a tray. This arrangement,however, does not prevent the passage of foreign substances between thelower roller and the belt, and in the case of any hard substance havingsharp edges the effect is often disastrous. Another disadvantage is,that the machine has to be stopped at certain intervals in order toremove the accumulation of dirt,&c.,fronrthe tray. To avoid this loss oftime, and to remedy the other defects, I dispense with the tray andattach a fender, a", to the scraper a the fender coming nearly incontact with the belt and preventing any foreign substance, except veryfine particles of dirt, from being carried to the lower roller. Insteadof sewing or lacing the ends ofthe belt together, I attach straps a tothe belt on the inside, about four inches from one end, and to the otherend I attach buckles (P. The straps are then drawn through the buckles,so as to leave an open space of about two inches between the buckles andthe ends of the straps attached to the belt. As thejointed portion ofthe belt is traveling between the upper and lower rollers on the underside of the belt-frame, the end a of the belt will fall down, and whenthe joint reaches the scraper all the dirt, &e., will fall through theopen space. When the jointed portion of the belt is traveling on theupper side ofthe belt-frame, the end a will form a flap and cover up theopen space. By this means the belt will constantlykeep itself clear ofthe dirt, 850., which would otherwise accumulate on the inside.

Referring again to the plow, the bent iron bar K is bolted at one end tothe plate L, eX- tendingforward a distance about in a line with Theouter ends of the rails 0 0 are sup the plow-point, as shown. Thevertical bar k" is secured at its upper end to the bar K" by means of astrap, k and plate 7t", fitting over the ends of the strap. The ends ofthe strap are screw-threaded to receive the nuts k by means of which thebars K and k are clamped together. The lower end of the bar It isrounded, and rests in a cup, k, formed in the upper end of thebifurcated bar 7t. A slot is cut in opposite sides of the cup it, intowhich the ends of the pin it, which is driven through the rounded end ofthe bar 76- project, thereby suspending the bar 757 and allowing it tohave a limited pivotal movement. A rolling cutter, is", is journaled inthe arms of the bar 5. The rolling cutter is thus pushed forward by theplow, and,having a pivotal movement, it will conform its course to thatof the plow without straining any of the parts.

It will be observed that the front axle, G, is pivoted to the beam B ata point midway of the entire width of the excavator-frame, and is shortenough to allow the frontwheels to revolve entirely around the pivotalpoint, if neecssary,without coming in contact with any part of themachinery. This is important when it becomes necessary to turn themachine in a narrow cut. By having the beam A short and placing the bentiron brace a at an angle, as shown, a space is formed,which enables thehorses to be pulled round to a line parallel to the brace and very nearthe rear wheels, the front wheels being in the position shown in dottedlines, Fig. 5., The operator is thus enabled to turn the machine in aout very little wider than the length of the machine. At the same timethe bent iron brace a forms a fender and prevents the horses from beingin jured by any part of the machine. The rear end of the beam A isprovided with a oasterwheel, A, as shown, which, should it comeincontact with a bank when the machineis turning, will. ride up the bankand lift that corner of the machine, whereas without it the end of thebeam A would embed itself in the bank.

Having described my invention, I elaim-- 1. In an excavator, thecombination, with the frame of the machine, of a carrying-belt frame anda plow attached to the lower end of one of the side rails of saidbelt-frame, the belt-frame being so supported at its upper end, withinthe frame of the machine, as to throw the point of the plow outside themachineframe, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In an excavator, the combination, with IIO the frame of the machineand a carrying-belt frame supported at-an angle thereto, of a plowsecured to one of the side rails of the beltframe, the share being soattached to theplow as to cut in a line with the machine-frame, whilethe mold-board is in a line with the belt frame, substantially as andfor the purpose specified.

8. In an excavator, the combination, with the side rail of thecarrying-belt frame, of a plate secured to the rail, a plow pivotallyattached to the end of said plate, and another plate bolted to the plowand provided with a slot, through which a set-screw passes to the plateto which the plow is pivoted, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with the side rails of a carrying-belt frame, blockssecured to the outer sides at the upper ends of both and at the lowerend of one of the rails and projecting beyond said ends, and a metalplate attached to the outer side of the other rail at its lower end andprojecting beyond it,of boxes secured in the upper blocks and arollerjournaled therein, a box adjustable in the lower block, a box riveted tothe inner side of the metal plate, a roller journaled in said boxes,said roller being recessed at its end to fit over the box on the metalplate, and a belt which travels over the rollers, said belt and rollersbeing of a width equal to the space between the outer faces of the siderails, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

5. In an excavator-frame, the combination, with the beams A A, thecross-beam B, and the short beam A, of the bent iron brace a, attachedat an angle to the beams A", A, and B, whereby a space is formed, forthe purpose specified.

6. In an excavator, the combination, with the carrying-belt frame andthe lower roller mounted in said frame, of a scraper secured to thesides of the frame and adapted to scrape said roller, and a fenderextending from the scraper downward in close proximity to the belt,substantially as and for the purpose specified.

7. The combination, with the carrying-belt, of straps secured to thebelt a short distance back from one end, and buckles attached to theother end, the straps engaging with the buckles so as to leave an openspace, for the purpose specified, that portion of the beltbetween theend and the points where the straps are attached serving as a fiap,substantially as described.

8. The combination, with an excavator, of a carrying-belt which receivesthe dirt from the plow and conveys it backward lengthwise of themachine, a second carrying-belt which receives the dirt from the firstbelt and conveys it across the machine to a point some distance beyondthe side of the machine to form an embanklnent, and an extension pivotedto the forward end of the frame of'the second belt and adapted to befolded under the second belt when not in use, substantially asspecified.

9. In an excavator-frame, the combination, with the beams A A, the shortbeam A and the cross-beam B, of the bent iron brace a, attached at anangle to the beams A A,

whereby a space is formed for the purpose specified, and a caster-wheelattached to one of the rear corners of the frame, substantially as setforth.

10. In an excavator, the combination, with the plow and a bent iron barsecured at one end to the rear of said plow, the other end extendingupward and forward, of a vertical bar attached to the free end of thebent bar, and a bifurcated bar carrying a rolling cutter and having acup at its upper end, in which the lower end of the vertical bar ispivotally secured, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal.

JOHN CABLE. [L. s]

\Vitnesses:

E. ORUsE, PHILIP IVIAURO.

